10 things learned at Comicpalooza this weekend

The big story in downtown Houston this weekend was Comicpalooza, which united geeks and nerds of all stripes for four days at the George R. Brown Convention Center. The event let you meet some of your favorite cult heroes, meet a man in a Wookiee costume, and buy hundreds of dollars worth of comic books. On Saturday, the lines to get in were long but the attendees didn’t seem to be fazed, even if their costumes were getting a bit soggy with sweat.

So, what did I learn from this year’s Texas International Comic Convention? Plenty.

1. There’s no right way to look at somebody — male or female — whose entire naked body has been painted like a superhero. Normally naked people aren’t an issue in daily life.

2. A lot of people like Brit sci-fi series Dr. Who, which I have never seen, ever. There’s 50 years of it, and I have no idea where to begin. Is it like crack cocaine and will it consume my life with just a taste? Do I have to wear a fez?

3. You will have deep internal battles over things that you want to buy but you cannot justify bringing home. Like the $500 Yoda figurine. “It’s life-sized,” said the man whose booth it was sitting in.

4. Bless those couples who decide to dress up together as their favorite characters. Some of us can barely get our significant others to pick a restaurant.

5. Comicpalooza wasn’t just comic books, Star Wars stuff, and signed lithographs of characters you’ve never heard of. I picked up a Black Flag record and a Lemmy Kilmister (Mr. Motorhead) action figure for my desk at work, in addition to a signed picture of January Jones from Mad Men. Even the normally nerd-averse could spend too much money at the convention.

6. I really wish I would’ve copyrighted that whole “keep calm and something something” thing way back when. I probably could have afforded 50 life-sized Yoda figurines with the scratch I would have made.

7. That little kid you may have seen running around dressed as Pinhead from the Hellraiser movies, and as Billy, the creepy puppet from Saw is just 7 years old. His name is Jordan Alexander and he’s cooler than most adults. He also dresses up as Edward Scissorhands and the Joker.

9. Comic book pioneer Stan Lee is 91 years old and still a pleasure to speak with, even if you are rushed and speaking in a service hallway in a convention center. He’s essentially the Chuck Berry of comic books, as the one-time president and chairman of Marvel Comics. Without him there would be no Comicpalooza, or perhaps even comic-book conventions in general. Without him, we would have all been waiting to meet Paul Reiser so he could sign our Mad About You DVDs probably.

10. Neil’s Bahr, just a few blocks east of the convention center, was ground zero for post-Comicpalooza partying. The bar, located at 2006 Walker, was full of men and women in and out of costume for the duration of the weekend chatting and boozing it up, arguing on the front patio about fictional worlds and superheroes. Bonus: they show the first nine seasons of The Simpsons on a loop on a TV behind the bar.